Systems are known to automate the homes and/or businesses of people. For example, security systems are known to automate the protection of people and assets within secured areas. Such systems may include a number of sensors placed throughout the area to detect and automatically report breaches in security.
Alternatively, one or more timers and/or sensors may be provided to automate and control illumination. For example, a timer may activate lighting at sunset and deactivate the lighting at sunrise. Similarly, a timer may be coupled to an environmental control system to lower heating and/or cooling costs during periods when the area is unoccupied.
Further efforts to automate such areas may include the use of sensors intended to detect the presence or absence of people. For example, passive infrared (PIR) sensor may be placed near the entrance to a room and used to activate the lighting when a person enters the room.
Similarly, a number of sensors may be placed throughout a space and coupled to a central processor. The processor may operate to learn a schedule of normal occupancy of the space. Towards this end, the processor may collect data on use of the space over a number of 24 hour, 7 day a week periods to learn a schedule of normal occupancy by authorized persons. Once the normal schedule of occupancy has been learned, the processor may control heating, cooling and lighting systems appropriately.
In many cases, the control of home or business automation may require any of a number of different control devices. For example, a security system may be controlled via one interface while temperature may be controlled via a separate wall-mounted interface. Because of the importance of automating occupied spaces, a need exists for better methods of automating the diverse systems in such spaces.